Albert’s Speech

The two most bile-inducing words in the English language are "public speaking". Albert's Speech is a mostly live-action picture about a rather drippy individual who just can't get his mouth around one. It is an ode to the bodily and mental stress of the Best Man's Speech, speaking mostly in interior monologues ("How Fucking Hard Can It Be?") and brief animated comic interludes.

The film borrows the juxtaposition of reality to out-there moments of fantasy from television shows like Scrubs. This is a reasonable gambit, often shocking a good few laughs - like beating the crap out of a text-message tormentor, and Albert losing all control of his body, being "paralysed by mediocrity", or planning a nuclear holocaust to avoid collapsing on his feet.

A rather crummy cop-out ending spoils the good-natured laughs up to that point.